For South Korea’s president Lee Jae Myung, the sprawling yard on the banks of the Delaware River has become a stage for something larger: a deepening partnership between Seoul and Washington that is being forged in steel, jobs and ships.
Standing before a crowd of shipyard workers, state officials and Korean executives, Lee presided over the naming ceremony of the State of Marine, a $300 million training and emergency response vessel for the U.S. Maritime Administration.
It is the third in a five-ship order that the yard is constructing — part of a broader effort by the United States to revive its struggling shipbuilding industry with foreign know-how.
“Just as Korean entrepreneurs and workers created the miracle of Korean shipbuilding on barren land, let Korea and the United States join forces to make the MASGA miracle a reality,” Lee said, invoking the slogan for a $150 billion initiative known as “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” which Seoul advanced during trade negotiations in July.
The Philadelphia yard, once a Navy facility established in 1801, had fallen into decline before being converted to civilian use in the late 1990s.
Its fortunes turned again last year when Hanwha Ocean, South Korea’s second-largest shipbuilder, bought the site — the first time a Korean company has taken ownership of an American shipyard.
For Lee, the acquisition represents more than a business deal. He called it the start of “a new path of challenge,” one that could bolster U.S. maritime security while showcasing South Korea’s shipbuilding prowess.
Hanwha executives say they plan to scale up the yard’s annual output from fewer than two ships today to as many as 20 within a decade, aiming for $4 billion in annual revenue.
The partnership has drawn praise from local leaders eager for manufacturing jobs. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined Lee at the ceremony, as did Kim Dong-kwan, Hanwha’s vice chairman, who highlighted the “good jobs, advanced ships and skilled workforce” being created on U.S. soil.
For a shipyard with centuries of history, the moment carried a sense of renewal.
Once a cornerstone of America’s naval might, the yard is now being repositioned by a foreign owner to help Washington meet modern maritime demands.
In that sense, Hanwha Philly Shipyard has become not just a factory, but a test case — a symbol of how South Korea and the United States are increasingly building their alliance not only through defense treaties and summits, but also through welders’ torches and assembly lines.
reporter
Kim Dong-young
davekim0807@ajupress.com
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